Beasor Walker former Tuscaloosa County sheriff died Wednesday

Dec. 16, 1921 - April 3, 2013

Former Sheriff Beasor Walker died Wednesday

8-25-2005 -- Northport, Ala -- Beasor Walker stands in front of the map he used during his service in World War 2. Walker was part of the D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy.

Tuscaloosa News / Robert Sutton)

Stephanie TaylorStaff Writer

Published: Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 11:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 11:09 a.m.

Beasor Walker, a World War II hero who went on to serve as Tuscaloosa County’s sheriff for two decades, died Wednesday. He was 91.

Walker was first elected sheriff in 1970 and served five terms before deciding not to run again in 1990.

“He was that stoic Southern sheriff that you had the utmost respect and admiration for,” said Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Ron Abernathy. “He did an incredible job. I can’t say enough about him as a person.”

Walker is one of the most decorated soldiers in Alabama history. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, he went ashore on the third invasion wave at Omaha Beach and fought in the Battle of the Bulge later that year.

The Army first lieutenant was a platoon leader in the 1st Infantry Division. He had graduated from Tuscaloosa High School just four years before.

“It was a long day,” Walker told The Tuscaloosa News in a 2007 interview about D-Day. “There were bodies everywhere. Some were wounded. Some were dead. It was aftermath from the morning. I was just walking through, hoping we could get across the beach without becoming one of them.”

As a National Guard commander, he had to keep the peace at the University of Alabama in 1963 when then-Gov. George Wallace tried to block the entrance of two black students to the school.

“That’s a day that I wish Alabama hadn’t had to go through,” he told The Tuscaloosa News in 1997. “I wish we could forget it, but it’s part of history and we can’t.”

Retired Tuscaloosa Police Chief Ken Swindle, hired by TPD in 1974, knew Walker for years. He described Walker as a straight-shooter who brought military discipline to the Sheriff’s Office.

“He said what he meant, and he meant what he said,” Swindle said. “He leaves a good legacy in law enforcement.”

Walker hired Capt. Loyd Baker, Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit director, as a detention officer in 1986. Just 23 at the time, Baker was intimidated when he saw Walker walking down a hall a short time after.

“Everyone knew that he was military and a war hero,” Baker said. “I went up and thanked him for hiring me. He said, ‘Be your own man.’ I’ll always remember that. He was a man of few words, so what he did say, you held on to.”

Baker said that he only heard Walker communicate over the police radio twice.

“He depended on his chain of command. That must have been from his military years. He would tell his staff what he wanted and then relied on them to do it. They would get it done. He commanded respect.”

Walker was 48 when he was first elected.

“He was a little bit older, more mature,” Swindle said. “He brought character to the job. He ran a real tight ship.”

Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Billy Sharp met Walker when he returned from the Korean War. Walker owned Walker Oil and Sharp ran a hotel, so they crossed paths in the business community.

“He was just a gentleman and a very respectable person. He did a lot of good for the community,” he said.

Sharp got to know Walker better after joining the National Guard. Walker, a colonel at the time, was the commanding officer of his regiment.

“He was the type leader that you respected just from the way he commanded the units,” he said. “Even though I’d been in combat, it was nothing like what he did.”

Walker counted a Silver Star as one of his many decorations, which he was awarded for his actions on Aug. 13, 1944. Walker told The Tuscaloosa News that troops were under heavy

machine-gun and anti-tank fire near Mahoudin, Normandy. Walker said he waded down a stream and, from an exposed position, destroyed hostile weapons and forced the enemy to withdraw.

His unit crossed the Rhine at Remagen. As company commander, on March 18, 1945, Walker said he returned fire of an enemy patrol that attacked him. He ordered the outposts to take cover and under enemy rocket and mortar fire, directed artillery against counterattacking Germans. He said he

single-handedly took out a machine gun crew and engaged nearby rifleman in hand-to-hand combat, dispersing the group. He said he led an assault against the remaining strongpoints in the western border town of Wallscheid. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions there.

As the war ended, his unit served as security guard for the Nuremberg Trials. Walker was discharged in December 1945.

Walker was awarded two Purple Hearts. He was once shot through the stomach and returned to the front lines without a trip to the hospital. He was sidelined once when his platoon got into trouble during the Hurtgen Forest battle on the German-Belgian border.

A shell fragment cut through his wool overalls, pants and wool underpants into his right leg.

“The fragment hit on all of the seams of my clothing and pulled the cloth into my leg and stopped it up — that’s why I didn’t know how bad I was hit at first, I didn’t see any blood,” he said during a 2007 interview. “But it hurt, it felt like (heavyweight boxer) Joe Louis hit me with a 10-pound sledge hammer.”

Walker received a second Silver Star, three Bronze Star medals, the American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge, the European Theater ribbon with five Battle Stars, Victory Clasp and Arrowhead for the Invasion of Normandy and several other commendations.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6022 Commander Walter Turner, 64, first met Walker when he was around 6 years old. His family owned a grocery store on Park Street in Northport, and Walker’s company supplied gasoline.

He wasn’t surprised to learn how many commendations Walker received for his service.

“It is unusual for someone to have so many awards, but not unusual that Beasor did,” he said.

“He had a good sense of humor, he was always joking around,” Turner said. “I remember once when I went to get a pistol permit at the Sheriff’s Office, he saw that I had a .22-

caliber chrome-plated pistol. He said, ‘Why don’t’ you get a real gun?’ ”

Turner talked about the brotherhood that all veterans belong to.

“You have that understanding that when you’re out there and your life is in someone else’s hands and theirs is in yours,” he said. “It’s the same with anyone who puts on a uniform — firefighters, police officers, EMTs — and puts their lives on the line every day to keep their communities safe. There’s a work ethic that the military has and Beasor Walker always had it.”

Walker is survived by his wife and children.

Services will be 2 p.m. Saturday at Forest Lake Baptist Church with Donald Payne officiating. Burial with full military honors will follow in Tuscaloosa Memorial Park with Tuscaloosa Memorial Chapel Funeral Home directing. Visitation will be Saturday from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at Forest Lake Baptist Church.

<p>Beasor Walker, a World War II hero who went on to serve as Tuscaloosa County's sheriff for two decades, died Wednesday. He was 91.</p><p>Walker was first elected sheriff in 1970 and served five terms before deciding not to run again in 1990.</p><p>“He was that stoic Southern sheriff that you had the utmost respect and admiration for,” said Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Ron Abernathy. “He did an incredible job. I can't say enough about him as a person.”</p><p>Walker is one of the most decorated soldiers in Alabama history. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, he went ashore on the third invasion wave at Omaha Beach and fought in the Battle of the Bulge later that year.</p><p>The Army first lieutenant was a platoon leader in the 1st Infantry Division. He had graduated from Tuscaloosa High School just four years before.</p><p>“It was a long day,” Walker told The Tuscaloosa News in a 2007 interview about D-Day. “There were bodies everywhere. Some were wounded. Some were dead. It was aftermath from the morning. I was just walking through, hoping we could get across the beach without becoming one of them.”</p><p>As a National Guard commander, he had to keep the peace at the University of Alabama in 1963 when then-Gov. George Wallace tried to block the entrance of two black students to the school.</p><p>“That's a day that I wish Alabama hadn't had to go through,” he told The Tuscaloosa News in 1997. “I wish we could forget it, but it's part of history and we can't.”</p><p>Retired Tuscaloosa Police Chief Ken Swindle, hired by TPD in 1974, knew Walker for years. He described Walker as a straight-shooter who brought military discipline to the Sheriff's Office.</p><p>“He said what he meant, and he meant what he said,” Swindle said. “He leaves a good legacy in law enforcement.”</p><p>Walker hired Capt. Loyd Baker, Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit director, as a detention officer in 1986. Just 23 at the time, Baker was intimidated when he saw Walker walking down a hall a short time after.</p><p>“Everyone knew that he was military and a war hero,” Baker said. “I went up and thanked him for hiring me. He said, 'Be your own man.' I'll always remember that. He was a man of few words, so what he did say, you held on to.”</p><p>Baker said that he only heard Walker communicate over the police radio twice. </p><p>“He depended on his chain of command. That must have been from his military years. He would tell his staff what he wanted and then relied on them to do it. They would get it done. He commanded respect.”</p><p>Walker was 48 when he was first elected. </p><p>“He was a little bit older, more mature,” Swindle said. “He brought character to the job. He ran a real tight ship.”</p><p>Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Billy Sharp met Walker when he returned from the Korean War. Walker owned Walker Oil and Sharp ran a hotel, so they crossed paths in the business community. </p><p>“He was just a gentleman and a very respectable person. He did a lot of good for the community,” he said.</p><p>Sharp got to know Walker better after joining the National Guard. Walker, a colonel at the time, was the commanding officer of his regiment.</p><p>“He was the type leader that you respected just from the way he commanded the units,” he said. “Even though I'd been in combat, it was nothing like what he did.”</p><p>Walker counted a Silver Star as one of his many decorations, which he was awarded for his actions on Aug. 13, 1944. Walker told The Tuscaloosa News that troops were under heavy </p><p>machine-gun and anti-tank fire near Mahoudin, Normandy. Walker said he waded down a stream and, from an exposed position, destroyed hostile weapons and forced the enemy to withdraw. </p><p>His unit crossed the Rhine at Remagen. As company commander, on March 18, 1945, Walker said he returned fire of an enemy patrol that attacked him. He ordered the outposts to take cover and under enemy rocket and mortar fire, directed artillery against counterattacking Germans. He said he </p><p>single-handedly took out a machine gun crew and engaged nearby rifleman in hand-to-hand combat, dispersing the group. He said he led an assault against the remaining strongpoints in the western border town of Wallscheid. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions there.</p><p>As the war ended, his unit served as security guard for the Nuremberg Trials. Walker was discharged in December 1945. </p><p>Walker was awarded two Purple Hearts. He was once shot through the stomach and returned to the front lines without a trip to the hospital. He was sidelined once when his platoon got into trouble during the Hurtgen Forest battle on the German-Belgian border.</p><p>A shell fragment cut through his wool overalls, pants and wool underpants into his right leg.</p><p>“The fragment hit on all of the seams of my clothing and pulled the cloth into my leg and stopped it up — that's why I didn't know how bad I was hit at first, I didn't see any blood,” he said during a 2007 interview. “But it hurt, it felt like (heavyweight boxer) Joe Louis hit me with a 10-pound sledge hammer.”</p><p>Walker received a second Silver Star, three Bronze Star medals, the American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge, the European Theater ribbon with five Battle Stars, Victory Clasp and Arrowhead for the Invasion of Normandy and several other commendations.</p><p>Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6022 Commander Walter Turner, 64, first met Walker when he was around 6 years old. His family owned a grocery store on Park Street in Northport, and Walker's company supplied gasoline.</p><p>He wasn't surprised to learn how many commendations Walker received for his service.</p><p>“It is unusual for someone to have so many awards, but not unusual that Beasor did,” he said.</p><p>“He had a good sense of humor, he was always joking around,” Turner said. “I remember once when I went to get a pistol permit at the Sheriff's Office, he saw that I had a .22-</p><p>caliber chrome-plated pistol. He said, 'Why don't' you get a real gun?' ”</p><p>Turner talked about the brotherhood that all veterans belong to.</p><p>“You have that understanding that when you're out there and your life is in someone else's hands and theirs is in yours,” he said. “It's the same with anyone who puts on a uniform — firefighters, police officers, EMTs — and puts their lives on the line every day to keep their communities safe. There's a work ethic that the military has and Beasor Walker always had it.”</p><p>Walker is survived by his wife and children.</p><p>Services will be 2 p.m. Saturday at Forest Lake Baptist Church with Donald Payne officiating. Burial with full military honors will follow in Tuscaloosa Memorial Park with Tuscaloosa Memorial Chapel Funeral Home directing. Visitation will be Saturday from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at Forest Lake Baptist Church.</p><p>Reach Stephanie Taylor at stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0210.</p>